My Hearts One True Love
by Alphawolf670
Summary: If love is anything, it is magical. But how can true love exist when magic exists in the world. Follow Jace, Alec, Magnus, and Clary as they fight to restore a love that was broken through an innocent accident.
1. Chapter 1: A Night To Forget

Alec sat on the floor of his new apartment, Max was walking across the living room with the timidness of someone undertaking a new task. From Alec's estimates, Max was around 18 months old, he couldn't know for sure because of the nature of Maxs' entrance into his life. From the first time that Alec held that blue baby at the entrance of the Shadowhunter Academy, he knew that he would never let him go. There had been a tense moment with Magnus in which Alec thought he might have to pick between his only love and the child that had so quickly stolen his heart. Thankfully, Magnus' trepidation concerning the baby had only come from his fear of pushing Alec too far when their relationship was so new and him so young. Alec had almost broken down in tears of joy when he realized that Magnus wanted the same thing, to have a family with him.

After spending a year living in Idris, during which Alec commuted to his post in Alicante and Magnus instructed at the Academy, they had finally come home. With a flick of his wrist and some blue sparks, Magnus had cleaned their apartment and made it child-friendly for their now toddler son, Max. Even while lost in thought, Alec was completely aware of his son. He saw Max fall backwards onto his bottom, the toddler looked back at his father for a reaction, when he only received an encouraging smile, he got up and continued his exploring. Their first night back in New York, after they had put Max to bed, Magnus told Alec that they needed to talk. His face must have given away his fears, "we need to talk" is never a precursor for a good conversation, because Magnus gently took his hand and reassured him that it was a good thing. Magnus had taken Alec out to their terrace, they stood silently while they took in the Mundane beauty of it all; the skyscrapers that lit up the sky, the roar of traffic even late into the night, and the feel of hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

After a few minutes of silence, Alec turned to Magnus and asked, "what did you want to talk about?". Magnus seemed to be lost in some distant memory, maybe he was remembering New York when he had first seen her back in the 1890's or maybe he was trying to picture what it would look like in another hundred years, Alec had grown used to Magnus' pensive side so he waited patiently for a reply.

A few more seconds passed before Magnus looked at Alec, he seemed to be back in the present and with a shy smile he replied, "I think we should get a new apartment".

Alec, who during their silent appreciation of New York had been preparing for almost every conceivable topic that Magnus could want to talk about, was thrown completely for a loop. He was so stunned that all he could say was, "but we live here".

Magnus' eyes sparkled with the light of the skyscrapers and his smile broadened, "I know we live here. I have lived in this apartment since the early 1900's, but I think it is time for a change. I want a place that you and I can build together, a place that is as much you as it is me." After a long conversation that lasted until sunrise, Alec finally agreed to begin apartment hunting on the condition that Magnus kept his old apartment for high warlock purposes.

Alec was startled out of his reverie by a loud knocking, he felt who it was before he even stood up to open the door, Jace. Jace and Clary had also recently returned to New York after being in Alicante for the same year that Magnus and Alec had been. The pair were learning advanced Clave law and training in downworlder diplomacy to assume their new posts as leaders of the New York Institute. Jace was leaning against the wall of their entranceway when Alec opened the door, he had a mischievous smile on his face and playfully asked "Did you miss me?"

"Miss you? I saw you almost every day for the entire year we were in Alicante. Why would I miss you?" Alec replied jokingly as he stepped in for a hug. After releasing Jace, they made their way into the living room and Jace made a beeline for Max. "Do you want anything to drink?" asked Alec, who was on his way to the kitchen.

Jace, who now had Max in his arms replied, "Water for now, we'll get to the good stuff once this little guy goes to bed." Alec heard Jace talking to Max from the kitchen, "Your papa thinks that I went to visit him every day in Alicante, but I was really going to see you." Jace was using a voice that Alec had never heard, a sweet and tender voice that Alec assumed was how he spoke to Clary when they were alone.

To avoid embarrassing his parabatai, Alec shouted "Drinks are on their way!" before leaving the kitchen area.

Jace, who refused to put Max down, began to inform Alec of the most recent downworlder news. Things were relatively calm in downworld; a few fairies were breaking the new cold peace laws, but it was nothing that Alec needed to concern himself with, Jace had already dispatched members of the conclave to deal with it. Alec was not surprised to see Jace thriving as the co-head of the institute, Jace was a born leader. "Alright, give me my son." Alec said to Jace who immediately created distance between the two.

"You have him all the time" Jace replied, looking inclined to run about the apartment, playing a game of Max keep away.

"I need to change him, give him a bottle and put him to bed. Then we can get to drinking the 'good stuff'." Jace seemed to be weighing his options but finally walked over and handed Max to Alec.

"Goodnight buddy" said Jace ruffling the blue baby's even darker blue hair "I'll go find something proper to drink while you put him to bed." he said to Alec and with that, the two split off to complete their tasks.

A while later, Alec walked downstairs to find Jace letting a bottle of wine breath. "This place is so big" said Alec "I can honestly get my cardio done just by taking a few laps up and down the corridor that leads to Max's bedroom."

"You'll be grateful for the space once Max starts bringing girls home" replied Jace looking up at Alec. Seeing the expression on his parabatais' face, Jace quickly added "or guys".

"That is my infant son you are talking about," replied Alec with false indignation "he will wait until he moves out of my apartment before he has 'company'."

"Not if uncle Jace has anything to say about it." muttered Jace under his breath, purposefully loud enough for Alec's benefit. Alec sat down on a loveseat across from Jace who was sprawled on the couch, shoes off, reading a magazine. "Did you know that there 101 ways to improve your complexion?" asked Jace with an air of disinterest.

"How much longer until we can drink that wine" answered Alec "what bottle is that anyway?"

"Who cares," replied Jace in his casual manner, "we'll leave a little wine in the bottle and Magnus can magic up another full one. Oh, and right about now". With that Alec took the bottle and poured two glasses full for him and his best friend.

Jace and Alec sat talking as they had done countless times. They reminisced about the adventures they had as teenagers, going on missions to hunt down a rouge vampire or werewolf, being dispatched to kill some minor demon, and they even laughed about Izzy's horrible cooking attempts, Izzy's cooking was now, mercifully, Simon's problem. They had a good long laugh at Simon's future stomach problems as they refilled their glasses of wine. "Magnus should be home soon" said Alec "how much of that bottle is left".

"Just a few drops. I hope Magnus can refill this bottle from only a few drops" said Jace with a slight slur to his words. Alec laughed at his parabatai's inability to handle alcohol, but the thought brought him up short, Jace could out drink a fish.

"Where did you get this bottle?" asked Alec.

Jace was staring at the ceiling "From the other room. Did you develop a drinking problem? I had to use an opening rune to get into the liquor cabinet, I don't like that about your new apartment, the booze should be easy to access. I think I'll talk to Magnus about that when he gets here." The mention of Magnus' name sent a shock through Alecs' body, it felt like the shock of their first touch, first kiss, and first…. "Hey!" Jace interrupted Alecs increasingly steamy thoughts, "why are you getting all red faced?"

"I am not." Alec replied indignantly, but he could feel the blood in his cheeks.

"Magnus is a cool guy though" said Jace, ignoring Alecs comment completely "He's kind of out your league man. Magnus is the coolest guy". Alec bristled at being told that his boyfriend was out of his league but the sound of a key turning their apartments lock, stopped whatever reply he might have made.

Magnus entered the apartment and Alec could see the fading light cast by a vanishing portal out in their entranceway. "Clary went down to the bodega across the street to get Jace a 'surprise'." said Magnus as he leaned in to kiss Alec, a simple but loving greeting. "She'll be up shortly. I'm going to go say goodnight to Max before the festivities begin". After Alec could no longer hear Magnus' steps, he turned his attention back to Jace.

"Since when are you the president of Magnus' fan club? I thought that you only liked him because he was with me." Alec asked in a reproachful tone.

"I'm honestly shocked that you two have lasted so long, with such a good looking Herondale for Magnus to move onto in such close proximity" replied Jace, now sitting on the couch and looking directly at Alec.

"Are you nuts? You have only ever had eyes for Clary. In fact, we spent the better part of a year trying to keep you from offing yourself because you thought she was your sister and you couldn't be with her. Now, suddenly, you want Magnus?"

"Maybe I want something new." retorted Jace, in a manner that said he thought this was no big deal, when in truth it was a massive betrayal of their friendship.

Through gritted teeth, Alec managed to say, "Well you can't have him." before Magnus called out from the upstairs landing "Let the drinking begin!"

Magnus made his way down the stairs and was greeted with a strange and tense environment, it had been pleasant enough when he had gone upstairs. "What's going on?" asked Magnus, casting Alec a questioning glance.

"You look amazing tonight, in fact, you look amazing every night". Magnus was stunned to realize that Jace was the one that had spoken and not Alec.

"Uh, thank you Jace, that's very kind" said Magnus, tentatively. Jace was like family now but usually Jace's comments about Magnus' appearance were contained in the teasing category.

"No, you do look great, and I can't wait to get you alone later." input Alec, not to be outdone.

"Alexander!" gasped Magnus "we have company! What has gotten into the two of you?"

"Nothing" replied the parabatai in unison.

"I just thought maybe you might want something a little different tonight" said Jace seductively, "you know, the last and most famous Herondale, different." The way that Jace was looking at Magnus was making him uncomfortable. Usually when someone who looks like Jace Herondale gives you that type of look, the I want to rip your clothes off and fulfill your fantasies kind of look, you fangirl scream internally. But this look, now, coming from Jace was indescribably wrong. He was Alec's parabatai, and Magnus knew that Jace loved Alec more than almost anyone in the world, he would never do anything that might hurt him.

"Ok, jokes up guys, ha-ha" said Magnus, a sinking feeling in his gut that something was terribly wrong.

Magnus walked to the kitchen to get two more glasses for wine, he could have easily snapped his fingers and summoned two more, but he needed to get out of the living room. In the kitchen he heard Alec and Jace exchanging words, hurriedly and with a certain amount of hostility. As he reentered the living room, two glasses in hand, Jace asked "Hey beautiful, can you magic up some more of this wine? It was amazing."

Magnus had enough, in the authoritative tone of the high warlock of Brooklyn, he said "Ok. Enough is enough Jace, stop your inappropriate comments now." This tone had made werewolves, vampires, and even Inquisitors shrink back from Magnus in the past, but it didn't seem to faze him.

Jace simply replied "What's so wrong with me telling you that you're beautiful and that I want you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I am in a relationship with your best friend or maybe it's the fact that there is a mini, red-headed Shadowhunter named Clary that is your girlfriend, a girlfriend who is coincidently on her way here now!"

"None of that matters now Magnus" began Jace, but he was interrupted by a soft tapping coming from the door.

Magnus sprint walked to the door, he was desperate to get away from his new number one fan and had noticed that something was wrong with Alec as well. Alec who was still incredibly reserved with his feeling was looking at Magnus with such love that Magnus could almost see the cartoon hearts in his eyes. "Clary!" exclaimed Magnus as he threw the door open "am I happy to see you."

Clary gave Magnus a strange look "Hey Magnus, did you forget that we portaled here together? I literally saw you like 5 minutes ago."

"Oh biscuit" said Magnus in a whisper, "I think that something is wrong with our boys and I really need some help with Jace."

"What's wrong with Jace?" replied Clary, panic creeping into her voice.

"You'll see" and with that Magnus let Clary into the apartment and close the door.

Clary knew that something was wrong with Alec and Jace as soon as she saw them sitting in the living room. They were seated directly across from each other, postures rigid, arms crossed over their chests, and were glaring daggers at each other. _Had they gotten into some sort of disagreement_ , Clary wondered. Before she could greet Jace, whom she hadn't seen all day, he turned to her and asked "So? How about getting us some more of this wine, beautiful?" Clary was a little shocked, Jace never addressed her as beautiful in front of other people and how was she supposed to get him more wine?

"Um, I don't know about getting you more of that wine, but I did bring you some of that sweet bread that you like." Jace completely ignored her, he acted as if she hadn't spoken and with a sinking feeling Clary realized that he wasn't looking at her but slightly over her left shoulder, at Magnus. "Did he just call you beautiful?" asked Clary looking over her shoulder at Magnus.

"This is what I'm talking about" was his only reply. Clary walked up to Jace and started examining her boyfriend, looking him over for marks, feeling his forehead, a very mundane thing to do but she couldn't help herself. After the most thorough examination that Clary could perform without disrobing Jace, she looked up at Magnus to ask for his help and realized that he was staring at the table in horror.

"Dear lord" said Magnus in shaky voice "where did you get that bottle?"

"It was in your liquor cabinet" replied Jace, "seriously though babe, can you make some more?" Magnus, who was one of the most composed people that Clary had ever met, began to freak out. He put his head in his hands and started pacing, muttering "oh, lord" repeatedly.

"Magnus, what's wrong? What was in that bottle?" asked Clary, trying to prevent Magnus' freak out from affecting her, she had to keep a cool head to help Jace. Magnus continued pacing and Clary continued to call his name, the volume of her voice increasing with every repetition. Finally, Clary couldn't take it anymore and she shouted "Magnus, if you don't stop pacing and tell me what was in that bottle, I am going to nail your feet to the floor with my throwing knives."

Magnus stopped, slowly his eyes focused on Clary and said, "Oh biscuit, you're going to kill me."

Clary was about to reassure Magnus that she would never kill him, a fact that was a little more in question now because of her recent threats to nail Magnus' feet to the ground when Jace spoke. "I would kill her before she drew her weapons Magnus, no one will ever hurt you in my presence."

"You wouldn't get the chance to kill her" interjected Alec "my arrows move faster than even you can and I never miss."

"Kill me?" asked Clary in a small voice, the tone in Jace's' voice when he said that he would kill Clary to protect Magnus brokered no argument, he said it in the same tone that he had once used when he spoke of killing Sebastian. Something was very wrong with Jace indeed, Jace had risked his life, his soul and everything that he was to protect Clary and she had done the same for him. Now, he would kill her without a second thought, like he didn't know her, like she didn't matter? "Magnus? What's wrong with Jace? What was in the bottle?" the words were hard for Clary to push out through the burning in the back of her throat, the fire of unshed tears.

When Magnus realized what was on the living room table his heart skipped several beats in horror. Once his initial shock passed, his mind flew into action, thinking of a possible solution for the predicament that Jace and Alec were in. Magnus was vaguely aware of someone calling his name as his mind furiously rushed through every spell, potion recipe, and even possible runes that could help. Finally, the shouting of his name had broken through and Magnus realized that it was Clary who was shouting for him, he tuned in as she threatened to nail his feet to the floor if he didn't stop pacing, he hadn't realized that he was pacing. He saw the thin armor of Clary's Shadowhunter training on the verge of breaking as she absorbed death threats from Jace and Alec, still, only asking what was in the bottle. Magnus could not bear to look at her, the pain in her voice and in her eyes were as clear to him as the fact that this was all his fault. He instead looked at the ground and tried to speak but his voice wouldn't come. After a few attempts, his voice finally returned, and he managed to push out the words "It's a love potion."

Magnus slowly looked up at Clary, he could see all the emotions playing across her face and he knew all the thoughts that must be running through her head. He was aware what a normal Shadowhunter's reaction would be, but Clary wasn't a normal Shadowhunter. She wouldn't care that it was against Clave law to make or have love potions, all she could care about would be fixing Jace. Magnus could tell when Clary had regained her composure because her posture changed, her Shadowhunter training kicked in and her subconscious was preparing her for a potential battle. "Ok, so you made a love potion. Why did you give it to Jace?" asked Clary with ice in her voice.

"I didn't give it to Jace." replied Magnus in a defeated tone.

Before he could say anything else, Clary had a seraph blade in her hand and in a low growl she asked, "Have you been drugging Alec?"

Magnus was so appalled by the accusation that he recoiled as if he had been struck. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement, when he looked over he saw that both Alec and Jace had also drawn weapons, but they weren't facing Magnus, they were facing Clary. "Don't name it Clary" said Jace in a warning tone, "I'll cut you down if you go after Magnus." It broke Magnus' heart to see the pain in Clary's eyes, he also felt a sense of pride as she steeled herself, ready to fight through Jace, to save him.

"We need to talk about this love potion and how to reverse its effects" said Magnus, trying to keep calm while everyone around him had weapons drawn.

"Go ahead and talk, it's not like I'll have an easy time getting to you through your love slaves." Clary spat the last two words at Magnus.

"Fine, but we can't have these two attempting to attack you every few seconds" said Magnus indicating Alec and Jace. With a snap of his fingers, the boys were rendered unconscious and were magically carried to separate couches.

"Can you put that away?" asked Magnus, indicating Clary's seraph blade "I did just take out two of the best Shadowhunters in the world with a snap of my fingers" added Magnus when Clary looked like she would refuse. Magnus watched as Clary secured her seraph blade back into her weapons belt, never taking her eyes off him.

"You wanted to talk, so talk" said Clary, still in a fighting posture.

Magnus took a deep breath and began "what you need to understand is that the love potion that Alec and Jace drank was made a long time ago, before it was illegal to create such items. What you also need to know is that this love potion is unique, a Magnus original. With every love potion, the person under the spell needs to be given a periodic dosage to maintain the effects. I created mine to have an everlasting effect, meaning that once a person drank a certain amount, they would never need to have another dose. Also, I infused a maturity spell into the love potion, which means, as the age of the wine increased so would its potency. Our boys drank a potion that is over 115 years old. Luckily, they split the bottle, or the effects might have driven them mad. As it stands, they are borderline murderous."

Magnus finished speaking, he was expecting a lot of questions from Clary, but she only had one "how do we fix them?"

"I don't know" said Magnus dejectedly "I don't know if there is a way to reverse the effects of the potion, but I'll begin searching immediately and won't stop."


	2. Chapter 2: Regrets and Promises

Clarissa A. Fairchild. Clary looked down at her signature block on the weapons requisition forms for the New York Institute and realized that most of the Shadowhunter world must see her in a very different way than she saw herself. In spite of her role in the Mortal and Dark wars, Clary still saw herself as an underdog, a normal person. The world, on the other hand, saw her as some great hero. Her appointment to co-head the New York Institute at such a young age was proof of that, as was the treatment she received from fellow Shadowhunters. There was, what some people would call hero worship surrounding herself and Jace. On several occasions she caught some of her own conclave staring at her when they thought she wasn't paying attention and one bold new Shadowhunter even had the nerve to ask for a signed photograph. She remembered teasing Simon, her soon to be parabatai about it once. "How is it that I've never played an instrument in my life and somehow, I became the rock star?" she asked jokingly.

"You've always been a rock star, Fray" responded Simon with a sincere smile, "it's just that now, I'm not the only one who knows it."

Clary was alone in her office, smiling at a lifetime of great memories that she shared with Simon. She was so absorbed in the thought of getting her best friend back, her Simon, that she almost didn't see the fire message appear before her. The message had almost hit the floor before she managed to snag it, her heart pounding. It read, _in 3 days, be ready._

It had been over a month since the incident involving Magnus and the love potion. During that time, Clary had only seen the warlock once a week when he came to check on Jace. She was still angry, she was irate at Jace for being so careless, mad at Alec for not keeping a closer eye on what Jace was doing, and most of all, she was furious at Magnus for keeping that potion. Even though she knew she was being too hard on Magnus, she couldn't help it. That night, after Magnus knocked out both Jace and Alec, things escalated between them and Clary thought she might have to harm Magnus.

"Look, I know you're mad Clary, but I will move heaven and earth to put these boys right." Magnus had said.

Clary's recollection of that night was perfect. "I'm making a portal and getting them back to the institute, I'll call the silent brothers and make up some lie about how they came into contact with the love potion" Clary replied in a barely controlled tone; it had taken everything inside of her to not scream the words.

"I really think that they should be left in my care. This potion is of my making and I need to put them under a suspended animation spell which requires constant monitoring." Magnus replied, his agitation had begun to show as the limits of his composure seemed to be reached.

Clary stared at Magnus for a long moment before she had coldly replied "Like I'd trust you with their safe keeping, after you've shown such poor judgment by keeping that love potion around. How can I trust you? No, I'm taking them both back." Clary turned her back to Magnus who was standing by the front door of his apartment; she had pulled out her stele and began to create a portal rune. She heard Magnus say something but hadn't been able to make out the words, turning she asked, "Did you say something?"

"I said you're not taking Alec." Anger was prominent in Magnus' voice and he stared, challengingly at Clary.

In the blink of an eye, Clary had a seraph blade in her hand for the second time that night, Alec and Jace no longer stood as an obstacle between them. "Umiel" spoke Clary and the seraph blade exploded into light, she remembered the warmth of its power spreading though her arm and into her body as she held the blade before her.

Magnus had appeared pale as Clary looked at him through the light of her seraph blade. It hadn't surprised her at all to see that he was not backing down; blue sparks were visible on every one of his fingertips.

"Clary, I think things have gotten out of hand." said Magnus, a mixture of sadness and anger in his voice. "We should take a few moments to calm down and talk about our options before things are done that can't be taken back."

"There is nothing to talk about, these two Shadowhunters belong to the New York Institute and that makes them MY responsibility." Clary had replied, her voice rising in volume with every word.

"No, what makes them your responsibility is that they are your family, just like they are mine. It was never my intention to hurt them and I will trade my life if it means that they will return to normal". Magnus' words were spoken in a soft voice, all anger gone, a defeated tone replacing it, but they hit Clary like a blow to the chest. The word family had cut through the anger that, without her realizing, had enveloped her like a thick layer of smog. Slowly, her fury abated and her newly acquired Shadowhunter training had taken over. Alec and Jace's situation required diplomacy and so she had agreed to a compromise.

Clary had not understood why the boys needed to be placed in suspended animation or what it was and demanded an explanation. Magnus seemed to be racking his brain for a long moment before he came up with an answer that Clary could understand. He said, "I'm sorry to bring this up and it might make things worse between us, but you already know someone who was under the effects of a suspended animation potion."

Clary had frowned at Magnus, while her mind raced to figure out what he was talking about. He gave her a few moments before he mercifully helped her out. "Your mother drank a potion made by the warlock that you knew as Dot. Do you remember how your mother was when you found her?" asked Magnus in a somber tone.

The memories of finding her mother in a comatose state had come crashing back into Clary's mind and she understood. "So, you're saying that Jace and Alec will be in a coma until you can figure this out?" Clary had asked.

Magnus nodded gravely and added "It's a little more complex than that but a coma is the basic gist of it."

Magnus had gone on to explain that he was afraid the effects of the love potion might intensify as time passed and the boys might become more dangerous. After Magnus' explanation, they decided that Alec would remain with Magnus while Jace returned to the institute with Clary. The silent brothers would not be involved because they would be duty bound to report to the Clave and Magnus would have been in serious trouble. Finally, they had agreed that Magnus would visit Jace once a week to check on him and that he would send a fire message once he found a way to reverse the effects of the love potion.

Remembering that night and her actions made Clary feel ashamed all over again. It was clear to her now, that Magnus had been as scared and panicked as she had been, maybe even more. Clary put her face in her hands at the memory of having drawn her weapon on Magnus, not once but twice. She knew the right thing to do was to apologize but hadn't been able to bring herself to do it on the few occasions she had seen him. Sitting in her office she resolved to make amends the next time she saw Magnus. Now, after what had seemed like an eternity of covering for Jace and Alec's absences, Clary was holding a fire message from Magnus.

The past six weeks of Magnus' life had been the most exhausting he could remember: mentally, physically, and emotionally. He worked around the clock to find a way to reverse the effects of the love potion, calling in many favors to acquire rare books of magic, some of which were not Clave approved. Magnus had meant what he told Clary, he was prepared to sacrifice his life to free Alec and Jace, to not be able to choose who you love was a fate far worse than death. During the first couple of weeks, Magnus had fallen into despair, his potion was unique, and he did not know if he could reverse its effects. At his lowest points, he would enter the room in which Alec slept and stare at his very own sleeping beauty. Seeing his one true love in that bed and knowing that his actions put him there drove Magnus onward with renewed determination. Three weeks into his search, he found the first piece of the puzzle in a scroll procured at the shadow market, that had been the first breadcrumb. Now, three weeks after his first clue, he finally, through immense trial and error, perfected the spell that would break the love potion's effects.

Magnus showed the spell to Catarina Loss who had been watching Max, she had been an invaluable help and he was sure there would be no way to truly repay her. With a crease in her eye brow she looked up at Magnus and said she thought it would work but that she would be keeping Max at her place until it was all over, Magnus did not object. His confidence bolstered by Catarina's validation, he was finally ready to move forward. The only thing holding him back now was his last encounter with Clary and the still fresh emotional scars it had left. Magnus didn't think he could stand another confrontation with her. He was afraid that if the spell failed she would never forgive him and he would lose his family in one fell swoop. So, he sat at his desk, drinking whiskey and looking at the spell but not really seeing it, all he saw were the possibilities. Finally, after a few drinks to push the fear away, he scribbled a quick note and sent it to Clary in a fire message.

Three days after Magnus sent the fire message, at exactly eight pm, a portal materialized in what used to be the living room of his old apartment. The space was now used as his office, although, for the foreseeable future would be the ritual site. It had taken Magnus almost a full three days to create the markings on the floor. Meticulously, he had drawn the three interconnected circles known as a triquetra which were required to undo the effects of his potion. The triquetra was also encircled in four different languages which included: demon, fairy, ancient Latin, and Greek. These languages spoke a message of separation, unbinding, and true love. Magnus saw Clary through the portal, she had Jace's arm around her shoulder. Surprisingly, Clary was carrying Jace's weight rather well, a look of grim determination on her face. As soon as they both passed the threshold of the portal and entered Magnus' apartment, he snapped his fingers relieving Clary of her burden. Jace was now levitating slightly off the ground and Clary gave Magnus, what he thought, was a sincerely grateful nod. Magnus levitated Jace's body to a spot on the floor and gently set him down, Alec was about ten feet to his right and there was a box at a 45-degree angle between the two. With the two boys set in place, Magnus turned to Clary who was looking at the markings on the floor. He could see the curiosity burning within her and knew that she would not allow him to begin without thoroughly explaining the process. "If you'd like," he said in a neutral voice "I have brought food and drinks for this next part." They both knew that bringing Clary up to speed would take some time and so, after a brief pause, Clary followed Magnus into the dining room.

Clary entered the dining room and sat down at the table, she was usually so impressed by Magnus' sense of décor, but tonight her mind was singularly focused on the ritual. She noticed that Magnus did not sit, he was leaning back against the wall, his body facing her, but his face was turned looking at Alec in the other room. Clary waited a few moments, looking over what would have been a feast fit for royalty spread out on the table. Finally, she spoke. "Look Magnus, before we do this I want to apologize." Magnus held his hand up and cut Clary off before she could get out her full apology.

Without taking his eyes off Alec he replied "There is nothing to apologize for. In fact, I want to thank you."

Magnus was speaking in a hoarse whisper and Clary was completely surprised by his words. Maybe he had snapped from all the research and the stress of the situation.

Magnus continued "I want to thank you for loving Alec. I can't say that I wasn't hurt by being on the business end of your seraph blade, but I get it."

Magnus looked so hurt and tired, he almost sagged against the wall. At that moment, Clary wanted nothing more than to hug him or give him a kind word. Her body would not allow her to do either of those things, it was frozen from the guilt of her actions, her throat was dry and unable to create words. She had treated him like the enemy when he too was a victim, the most important person in his life was also under the effects of the love potion and all the pressure to fix the situation was on him. There were unshed tears in her eyes as Magnus turned to face her for the first time since they entered the room.

"Thank you for loving my Alexander enough to protect him from any danger, even if that danger is me. You will always have a place in my heart for that." They stared into each other's eyes for a short moment before Magnus took a seat across from her and in a more casual tone added, "how about I explain this ritual, so we can get started?"

Magnus snapped his fingers producing a pen and legal pad in front of Clary. "Look, I am going to have to speak for a while to explain this ritual. So, if you have any questions, write them down and we'll go back to them once I finish. Sound good?" he asked of Clary, who gave a curt nod, pad and pen at the ready. "First, let's start off with the symbol on the floor, it's called a triquetra. As you may have noticed, the symbol consists of three circles that are interconnected at a central point, each circle represents a whole living being and the place where they intersect is the connection that those people have to each other. In this case, the rings correspond to myself, Alec, and Jace." Magnus saw Clary open her mouth to ask a question, remember her legal pad and with visible effort close her mouth, jotting her question down quickly as to not interrupt. He felt the beginnings of a smile play at his lips but quickly suppressed it, surprised at how much he had missed being around her. "The box placed where the circles intersect will serve as a vessel for any feelings that are untrue. It was made using the remains of the love potion and a rare form of fairy wood used to create love arrows for what humans long ago called Cupid." At the mention of Cupid, Clary's mouth fell open, but she did not interrupt. She instead, moved quickly to a page at the back of her legal pad and scribbled down what Magnus assumed was a question for another time, when the boys were back to normal. Magnus continued painstakingly explaining every facet of the ritual; he included explanations on why the four languages that encircled the triquetra were selected, what they said, where the materials for this spell were retrieved from, and why he thought it would work. He only kept one thing to himself, the first step of the ritual. After what seemed like hours, Magnus was finished talking and was ready to field Clary's questions.

Magnus was not surprised at the insight behind Clary's inquiries, he knew she would have been doing research on her own during their time apart. They went down her list together and Magnus would explain until Clary would show her understanding by crossing out the question. A few of the questions Magnus was only able to answer with "I'm not sure, the love potion is unique and so is this reversal spell." Clary had not been happy with that answer but seemed to accept that it was the best she could hope for in this situation. _At long last_ , Magnus thought when Clary closed her legal pad, _out of questions_.

"Alright, let's do this" she said in what Magnus could tell was a voice trying for confidence.

"Lets", replied Magnus, giving Clary a smile that he hoped masked everything he was feeling. One of the things that Magnus tried to hide from Clary during his explanation was the crippling uncertainty and fear he felt. She seemed to have bought his act because she was willing to proceed immediately or maybe it was just that she really was a Shadowhunter, always choosing action over inaction. Magnus rubbed his eyes, said a silent prayer to any higher power who was listening, and followed Clary back into the living room.

Upon reentering the ritual site, Magnus was happy to see that his spell was beginning to work; Clary had a look of shock and wonder on her face. The floors of the circles in which Jace and Alec slept had glowing runes beginning to ring their insides. As Magnus watched, more runes began to appear, and he smiled. "Clary," he said, trying to hide his excitement and hope "the ritual is beginning to work. That golden writing is the first step, it is writing down all the truths in Alec and Jace's lives. Think of it as a download of their true selves into that circle. I didn't know if it would make sense without seeing it, so I held off on explaining this one part. I have to climb into my circle and let the process begin working on me." Clary was looking at Jace with such an intense expression that Magnus looked away. He took a step towards his circle and felt Clary's hand grab his arm, holding him in place.

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Clary almost desperately, her eyes still on Jace.

"Sorry, but you're just a spectator in this dance, biscuit" Magnus replied sympathetically. "I'm going to cast a spell on myself to sleep for the next 24 hours while my download completes. You're free to come and go as you please, I've made this apartment only accessible to your portals, I put all my wards up earlier today." Magnus was a little shocked when Clary pulled him into a fierce hug. He could feel all her emotions in that hug: all the pain, worry, fear, love, hope, and so many other feelings that he was almost overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry Magnus" he heard her say in a small voice.

Suddenly, Clary morphed into the little red-headed two-year-old whom he'd met so long ago, the girl he had always hoped to protect, the first person he had cared for, secretly, in a very long time. Blinking back tears, Magnus quietly reaffirmed his promise "I will sacrifice my life to give you back your Jace, Clary." Gently, he broke the hug and stepped into his circle, thankful for the sleeping spell he was about to cast. He knew that the vision of a young Clary in so much pain would haunt him for the rest of his days. With that thought, he cast his spell and closed his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3: Of Angels and Demons

After Magnus went to sleep, Clary found herself unable to leave the apartment. For some reason, even though all of Magnus' wards were up, she felt that three of the people she loved most in the world would be exposed and vulnerable if she left. So, she wandered the apartment, looking through Magnus' things and periodically checking on the progression of the writing in the circles.

Clary continued her snooping until she caught a glimpse of a familiar rune in Jace's triquetra ring, her name. She pulled up a chair and didn't leave Jace's side after that; she was transfixed by the pattern that was emerging as Jace's truth. There were only two cascading circles of writing completed of Jace's story, but Clary noticed that the symbol for her name appeared as every fourth rune. Silently she sat, her heart swelling a little more every time her rune appeared.

It took a few hours for the spell of Jace's story to release Clary from its grips, she had been completely enthralled by it and forgot all about checking on Magnus and Alec. Begrudgingly, she tore her eyes away from the most fascinating floor she had ever seen to quickly check on the other two.

Clary looked over at Alec's writing and noticed that something was very different between their stories. Alec's story was filled with the runes for love, hope, happiness, future, and family but all those runes were absent from Jace's story. She knew that Jace loved the Lightwoods like family, had high hopes for his future, and as of recently was truly happy.

Her chest felt like it was going to burst when she finally figured out what her name meant in Jace's download, why Clarissa was every fourth rune. At some point, deep down inside and at such a fundamental level, Clary had become all those things to Jace, she now represented everything good in his world. The magnitude of this realization broke the dam that was holding back all the feelings that Clary had tried to suppress for the past six weeks.

The flood of emotions knocked Clary to the floor. She hugged her knees as she sobbed hysterically, grateful that no one was awake to see her in her current state. At one point she may have been wailing, but she didn't care; this was her cathartic release. After the body racking sobs stopped and the tears slowed to a steady trickle, Clary retrieved the bedding left for her on Magnus' couch. Completely exhausted, she laid down outside of Jace's circle, knowing that she had never wanted to touch him more than at that moment and fell asleep immediately.

Magnus awoke feeling refreshed. He looked over at where Alec should have been sleeping beside him, a smile beginning to form on his lips, and then it all came rushing back to him. Neither Magnus nor Alec were asleep in their comfortable and very expensive bed. Instead, they were both sleeping on the floor of his office, the ritual site. With a groan, Magnus stood up. The reality of his situation made his heart drop almost out of his body and it seemed to sink even lower when he looked over at Clary.

Clary was curled up on the floor covered by the blanket that Magnus left out for her. Her hand was practically touching Jace's triquetra ring and a bleak look was set into her sleeping face. Magnus chided himself mentally for letting the sight of an unhappy Clary crush his heart. Maybe becoming a father had changed him somehow and now, he not only saw her as his friend, but a daughter. He sat with that thought while he gazed into the faces of his sleeping loved ones. The appreciation of how loved he was pierced Magnus' heart and it dawned on him that he was the luckiest warlock to ever live. Magnus didn't know how much time passed as he watched his family in their slumber. He did however know himself, he was procrastinating, afraid to take the next step. _A coward's life, is no life for me_ , thought Magnus, willing himself to forge ahead.

 _Something feels off_ , thought Magnus as he called out for Clary in a gentle tone. After the words left his mouth, it hit him that he was not yet ready to rouse anyone and was a little relieved when she didn't wake. A night spent sleeping on the floor must have left him looking a mess and he needed to look fabulous for Alec when the spell was broken. With a flick of his wrist, Magnus saw his clothes change, felt his hair spring upright, and his mouth felt minty clean. Now, he was ready. "Biscuit", Magnus tried again but she did not stir at all. He tried a few more times before understanding what was happening. _I'm not hearing Brooklyn!_ He thought with a tinge of worry, _if this was all that went wrong today it would be a very good day_. It struck him that he was not hearing the sounds associated with his city apartment, a white noise so constant that he just assumed it was there when he woke up. Magnus sighed internally and shouted "Clarissa Fairchild!" at the top of his lungs.

Clary shot to her feet, "What!? What is it Magnus!? What's wrong with Jace!?" She stopped panicking when her quick scan of the room revealed a sleeping Alec and Jace, the apartment just how she'd left it. Magnus was staring at her with an abashed expression and she was a little annoyed that he hadn't replied. "Hello!?" Clary asked of Magnus, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice and the warlock pointed to his ears. Clary squinted at Magnus and the warlock waved his hand in front of him, the words "I can't hear you" appearing in the air before him.

With another gesture, Magnus made a paragraph appear explaining that the triquetra rings were interfering with the way sound traveled and that they wouldn't be able to communicate unless they shouted at each other. Clary wasn't a warlock, so she couldn't write words in the air, but she did have what she needed to communicate without destroying her vocal cords, her trusty legal pad. She held up her index finger, the universal sign for one second and darted out of the room. Her legal pad had the words "What's up, Magnus?" already scribbled down as she reappeared.

"Hey, biscuit" Magnus made the words appear with another wave of his hand. He smiled affectionately at Clary whose night on the floor had left her with a severe case of bed head.

"Are we ready?" Clary jotted down on her pad. When she saw how Magnus was looking at her, so affectionately, she knew how she must look and felt a little too self-conscious given the gravity of the situation before them.

"Yup" replied Magnus who had given up on the theatrics of hand waving, it was too much work when he could just snap his fingers. "Do you mind?" he asked of Clary.

"Mind? Mind what?" scribbled Clary. Magnus snapped his fingers and Clary felt her hair fall around her freshly washed, smelling of his homemade signature shampoo. She also saw that her clothes changed to a pair of comfortable lululemon yoga pants and hoodie ensemble. To top it off, her mouth was now minty fresh, and a plate of bagels had appeared next to her on the floor. She gave Magnus a huge grin and he returned it.

"It's time. Let's get started" the words appeared in front of Magnus as the grin left his face and was replaced with a look of supreme determination.

Magnus took a deep breath. He could see Clary standing rigidly out of the corner of his eye as he placed his hands together, palms up, and the reversal spell materialized in them. The spell, which was about 30 pages long with detailed instructions on timing and punctuation, was bound in black leather; Magnus' signature mark stamped into its front. He surveyed the ritual sight before him to ensure that everything was in place. Alec and Jace were both within their triquetra rings, their download completion indicated by a large unique rune that represented them in the center of their respective circles. Magnus then looked at the love box, as he called it, verifying that it was placed where the circles overlapped and noted that it was now glowing slightly. Lastly, Magnus ensured that his own download was complete, it was. As far as he could tell everything was in order. He didn't know if the cottonmouth he was feeling was from nerves or if he was thirsty from sleep, so he summoned a pitcher of water and drained it without taking a breath. He looked over at Clary one last time and gave her the best smile he could muster, she in return gave him a thumbs up. _Well_ , Magnus thought, _here goes everything_ , and began the ritual.

Clary did not know what the ritual was supposed to look like. Magnus had done a good job of explaining all the steps but hadn't been able to explain the visual cues of what was to come. If Clary had to describe the ritual to someone, she would describe it as a silent orchestra. Like a conductor, Magnus was directing a full symphony with small hand gestures. The ritual responding to his every movement with small flashes of light in every conceivable color.

She could see Magnus' lips moving so she assumed that he was chanting. _Did warlocks chant?_ Clary allowed her mind to be sidetracked by the thought. _Is that offensive to Magnus? I'll have to ask him when this is over_ , she decided. Her attention came back to the ritual just as Magnus made an exaggerated movement with his right hand, a giant wave and all three triquetra rings exploded into light. It now looked as though all three inhabitants were being lit by a spotlight from underneath and Magnus seemingly unaffected by the change in conditions, continued his chanting.

The symphony stretched on for what seemed like hours and Clary allowed her mind to wander to the same thought repeatedly. _I'm going to get Jace back tonight!_ she thought excitedly and would immediately reprimand herself. Magnus explained that it was a 50/50 chance that the ritual would work, and Clary was acting like it was irrefutable certainty. She was so absorbed by her thoughts that she must have missed Magnus' second major movement because a deafening thunderclap jolted her attention back to the ritual. The boys seemed to have been filled with helium and had begun to bounce off the magical borders of the circles making a sizzling sound every time they made contact. Clary began to panic; the sizzling sound couldn't have been a good sign and she wasn't sure there was anything she could do to help. Before she did something reckless to try and help the boys, they stopped bouncing and settled about three feet off the floor.

Clary took in a deep breath. She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath while the boys bounced around and was beginning to see spots from lack of oxygen by the time they stopped. Everything in the triquetra rings seemed to have halted, even Magnus was frozen. It was as if she was looking at a picture or a single frame of a film. Clary felt a tug at her heart and tears filled her eyes as she took in the image before her. The boys, levitating on their backs with their arms spread wide and backlit by the radiant floor looked like angels ascending to Heaven.

Magnus did not know how everything would look when the spell began to take effect but as a practiced warlock of over 400 years, he hoped it would look familiar. The first portion of the spell would be a cinch to Magnus as it was written in ancient Latin. Runes were the official language of Heaven and as much as Shadowhunters would like it to be theirs, it wasn't.

Back when the Shadowhunters were just a bunch of upstart baby angels, a lot of downworlders helped them mold their culture. It was the warlocks who taught them that identifying with something and making it your own gave it power. Among the many things that the newly created Nephilim adopted was ancient Latin as their official language. Magnus knew that to draw out Alec and Jace's true selves, he'd have to use something deeply rooted within them and so the ritual would begin with Latin.

Magnus tried to avoid chanting whenever possible, it felt a little too culty to him and cults were preposterous and idiotic. He began to read the ancient Latin words in a controlled and steady tone, focusing on each word as if it was the most important word to ever be written. Once he completed the first read through, he began again and then again.

At the end of his fifth repetition he saw the runes spark underneath the boys and knew it was time to apply his magic to complete the step. His hands ignited with blue flames as he threw them above his head making a Y shape with his body. It felt like his magic was being drained out of him through his fingers and soon the tops of all three rings were covered with individual portions of his magic. When he felt the pressure on his fingers subside, Magnus put his hands down.

Slowly, the blue sparks began to descend. Magnus gaped in wonder as the floor blazed up with light whenever a spark of his magic would make contact, it was like watching gun powder igniting. In his entire existence he had never seen anything like this before and was pretty sure it might be a one-time deal. As the last few sparks began to make their descent, he looked out of the corner of his eye to Clary who was mesmerized by the spell and wondered if they were both seeing the same thing. He returned his gaze to Alec's ring as the last spark hit the floor and the world erupted into light.

"Oh my lord!" Magnus yelled out as the light engulfed him. He threw his hands over his eyes, which he had closed as quickly as humanly possible, but it didn't make a difference. The light was so intense that it felt like it was burning Magnus' skull, cooking his brain, this was the holy fire of Heaven. He could also somehow hear the light, it didn't make any sense, but he could hear it. The sound the light made was that of a million screeching eagles, an endless siren inside of his eardrum, it was the unfiltered voice of the angels.

 _My head is going to explode!_ Magnus thought as the assault on his senses intensified and the pressure in his head increased with every passing second. _NO! This is not how it ends!_ shouted a defiant voice in his mind. Magnus did not care if he died but he would not let Alec and Jace share the same fate. He brought magic to his hands once more with the intent on ending the spell with the failsafe he created, and everything stopped.

Magnus doubled over and placed his hands on his knees, panting as if he'd just sprinted for miles. He didn't want Clary to worry so he fought the urge to lie down and pass out. He didn't know how much time passed before he recovered enough to straighten up, but the experience left him in a foul mood. _That's better_ , Magnus thought sarcastically, _now it's like I'm standing on a million halogen lights instead of the sun. Not to mention the airport runway I now have in my ears,_ grumbled his inner voice.It had been long enough that Magnus was confident the first step of the ritual was complete. While mentally telling the Nephilim a few choice words, he snapped his fingers and summoned the darkest tinted pair of glasses in the history of the world onto his face. It was still like looking at an eclipse through his fingers, but it was the best he could do.

Magnus summoned a pitcher of something a little bit stronger this time and began to sip the cool crisp liquid. He was stalling while he regained his composure; he couldn't hear or see very much and what he could see was spinning. The realization that his warlock experience meant nothing made Magnus deflate a little, everything about the ritual had been new and unexpected. In all honesty, he wanted to stop, afraid of what the next step would do to him or worse the boys. With quitting still on his mind, he drank the last few drops from the pitcher and realized that even though this hurt like hell, it was a victory. No one had ever tried anything like this before and he had gotten through it successfully, _well at least the first part_ , he reminded himself. Magnus also remembered his promised to Clary. He told her that if need be he would die to rectify his mistake, so he couldn't just quit because of a minor soul splitting headache. With his promise to Clary as the main driving force, Magnus decided he was ready to begin step two.

During his research, Magnus discovered that apart from free will, love was one of the most precious gifts given from Heaven. Only true evil, embodied by demons would dare corrupt love and so, Magnus knew that a demonic language would be necessary for step two. He scoured every possible source of information until he found the language Liviathu, the language of the first demons.

Magnus began to read the demonic text with an even more deliberate technique than he had with the ancient Latin. He made certain to pronounce every word perfectly, or what he hoped was perfectly because nobody really knew how to speak the ancient language anymore. About a quarter of the way through the second portion of the spell, he noticed over the top of his book, a small dark splotch appeared on Jace's forearm. Liviathu was powerful to an extent that Magnus could barely fathom and was showing almost immediate effects.

The splotches continued to appear on both Alec and Jace as Magnus continued the spell. As he neared the end of the text, he realized that the dark spots were beginning to move up the boys' arms and into their shirt-covered chests. Magnus wished they were shirtless. In the back of his mind, he was proud of himself for wanting to get two beautiful boys naked but only for academic purposes. He would congratulate himself later for his personal growth. Since he hadn't thought to disrobe the Shadowhunters before he began, and it was too risky to use magic before the demonic sign, he just had to hope for the best. With his heart lodged in his throat, he finished reading.

For a second, Magnus feared that nothing happened, and he opened the book to begin reading the demonic text again. Before he could begin pronouncing the first impossible word, Alec's body was jerked slightly off the ground. Magnus froze and stared intently at the boys, it happened again. He realized that the spell had worked, and it was time to use his magic.

Magnus summoned his magic to his hands, closed his fists, and put his right fist on top of his left. He then began to move both fists in unison in a counter clockwise motion. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Magnus would have died from embarrassment. After practicing this motion to prepare for the ritual, he knew that he looked like a stereotypical tv witch, holding a giant wooden spoon and stirring a cauldron.

He was snapped out of his self-depreciation when both Alec and Jace were snatched into the air, almost reaching the ceiling before stopping. To Magnus, it looked like a fisherman's hook had caught both boys by the heart and then tried to yank them out of the apartment. The shock had arrested Magnus' stirring and once stopped, he was afraid to resume it. _Please let this work_ , Magnus pleaded silently. Mercifully, his mental anguish wasn't drawn out. Like everything associated with the demonic portion of the ritual, the end of step two happened fast and was very clear.

Magnus had less than a minute to panic about messing up the ritual when both boys dropped from the ceiling. Before he could begin to raise his hands to stop their freefall both Alec and Jace were jerked up again. The lifting and dropping process happened too many times to keep count. The spell was treating the Shadowhunter pair like a ragdoll yo-yo, each rise and fall more violent than the last. All Magnus could do was stand and watch, his outstretched hands blazing with blue fire, ready to catch the boys if the invisible string snapped.

Luckily for Alec and Jace, they were still in a coma, so the jerking movements didn't affect them. Magnus, on the other hand, was beginning to feel the effects of motion sickness as the boys dropped again but this time, weren't pulled back up. _Is it over?_ Magnus thought with fragile hope.

The Shadowhunter parabatai were levitating about halfway between the floor and ceiling. An imaginary fisherman's hook still secured in their hearts, the line keeping them in place. As Magnus stared with a mixture of relief and triumph at the hanging boys, he was overcome by the image before him. There was something indescribably beautiful in the manner that Alec and Jace gracefully floated in the air, backlit by the light of their ritual runes. The pair cast an odd shadow on the ceiling and Magnus' heart contracted forcefully as he became aware of the miracle before him. _I can see it,_ Magnus thought in awe, tears spilling down his face. _They really do come from angels._


End file.
